The Photo Shop - Beginning

(The first in a weekly series)

The Photo Shop -- Beginning

Luna Roche grew up in a small river town. It had wooden houses with wide verandas, willow trees, green parks, fruit farms, and river tourists. Kids had no sense of rich or poor, there wasn't much to distinguish it. No house was particularly big or small, no business or farm particularly dominant, and no one had a car that was too flash for the muddy backroads out of town.

Luna was a single child, her parents had struggled to have children at all - even getting Luna was considered a miracle. She was loved dearly, but not spoiled. Luna was a gracious and polite young lady. And she was beautiful.

Luna's looks were gentle and soft, like her nature. Her smile was humble, her body slight but shapely. Her long light brown hair had small flicks of gold. It was straight and light enough for the breeze to pick it up. Her eyes had always been gorgeously adult, from a young age her eyelashes we strong and helped her look older than she was. There wasn't a person who didn't look twice when Luna passed, she had universal allure.

In the countryside, beauty is more healthily revered than in the city. The city wants to possess beauty for personal pride. In the country, beauty is natural and shared. The stars on a windless river at night. Willow trees on a slow breeze. The smell of fruit picking. Dawn in winter, or the sun setting below a storm cloud. Or girls like Luna. Beauty in nature was something communal and appreciated, so despite being uniquely attractive there wasn't anything interesting or irregular to write in Luna's autobiography all through her schooling. Classes, friends, sports, family, church, music, movie stars, and homework.

No boys. Not properly. Luna wasn't the type to fall, nor was she the type to catch. Her life was not disrupted by sexual distraction. No boy treated her with lustful disrespect, and Luna did not encourage nor was curious about boys, or girls. Love was a noble pursuit, not carnal. And as her parents insisted, even eighteen was too young to know what love was. She trusted their judgment. Luna was years away from comfortably revealing the contents of her pajamas to another person.

But, as standard as her childhood had been, things turned for Luna and her town when she was eighteen. Once-in-a-hundred-years-flood, they called it. They knew it was coming, it wasn't flash flooding. The town and surrounding orchards had days to prepare as the waters poured down from upstream but three days of sandbagging were like putting up a tent to protect you from a hurricane. The water went straight over or around anything that sought to stop it. With the early warning, nobody died, but the mess and the damage left behind would change the town forever. And I don't have to tell you the insurance companies' verdict on claims. Any money that came in was government relief funds or charity.

Luca and her parent's home had water halfway up the doors for four days before it receded. They stayed eighty miles away at her grandmother's house while the town was evacuated, with Google classroom scrambled together to help teach all the final-year kids who had important exams approaching. When people were allowed back to clean up, Luna stayed behind.

Grandma's town was bigger. It had a proper city center surrounded by rolling suburbs and parks. Luna could get around on buses, she didn't need a bike or mooch a lift. Grandma's house was small, but stylish, an old stone and brick cottage. The street was friendly, Grandma made an effort to know them all by name.

Next door had a portly boy called Tommy, who at nineteen was in the army. He was home on leave when Luna first came, and through meeting Tommy she got to know his family as well. It was his mother and father, Sue and Sammy that stepped in and gave her a part-time job at a time when Luna's family had lost almost everything. Luna's parents reported back that the house would survive but almost nothing in it. The furniture, mattresses, and clothing that remained behind were unrecoverable. If there was power and mains water maybe they could have cleaned some of it up in time, but with no fresh water and no electricity, it was tough enough just to get things outside to clean the floor and walls. You'd never seen so much slimy mud. The stench was unbearable, and it stained everything irrevocably.

"At least the new floor color is evenly spread," her father joked about the wooden floors, "And the new wall color comes up halfway and stops perfectly horizontal. Couldn't get it that level in every room if you tried."

To help Grandma pay the extra bills around the home and for her own spending money, Luna worked with Sue and Sammy on Friday and Saturday. They owned a photo shop and studio right down the end of Main Street in town. It was an old electronics store, with a shop and office out front, and a large storage facility at the rear which they converted into some simple studios.

The shop was open Monday through Saturday for old-fashioned film processing, ID photos, photo-print souvenirs, and camera equipment, and on Sunday they did studio photos. By working Friday and Saturday, Luna freed Sue up to do the books for work, and other household errands and chores she had not been able to do since Tommy left high school for the military. There was a lot for her to learn and mostly Luna was at the front counter alone. If there were any studio appointments Sammy would go out and do them, leaving Luna to fend for herself. It was a deep-end start to earning money in her life. Luna had to use every reserve of patience and resilience.

"It's too hard," she pouted to Grandma. "They leave me completely alone in the shop and I don't know what I'm doing."

"Honey, they're a family business, they're small, it won't be perfect," Grandma consoled. "You being there is a great help. Just think of it as anything you do is helping, rather than what you can't do is hurting."

"I don't want to do it at all."

"Luna, darling, it's not easy to get a job these days, especially without experience. Think about what your parents are going through. See this through, at least until something comes along. Please."

Luna sighed and nodded.

For the next few weeks, she did school online and worked all of Friday and Saturday. Her parents had joined a group to help clean out her school back home, but it didn't look good. It was unlikely exams would be held at home, the school was scrambling to set up proctored centers in all the places the students had dispersed. Luckily both her parents were able to keep their jobs, and granted a compassionate leave of absence, but unpaid until they could set up workstations at home again.

"Money is tight," her dad conceded. "It's mighty nice of you to be helping out paying your own way up there. I feel like we're mooching off folk everywhere, so I'm real proud you're helping out Grandma to pay your way. I'm sorry it had to be that way, honey."

"Dad, it's okay," Luna assured him.

"Things are worse than they're letting on," Grandma suspected after the call. "We better do all we can."

Luna nodded.

At work on a Friday, Sammy was up front but on his mobile, talking quietly and frowning.

"Is everything okay?" Luna asked afterward.

"I need your help," he said.

"What is it?"

"Catalogue shoot Sunday. We've been given fifteen outfits by Salisbury's to shoot for their summer season, but it has to be in by Tuesday. Mary-Rose says she can't do it anymore. She's pregnant, and it's showing. I need a model her size, and quick. Will you fit in a size 4?"

"Ah... yes."

"We'd be mighty grateful. I was paying Mary-Rose $175, I'd be more than happy to pay the same to you."

"Ah... okay."

"Well, you check with your Grandma tonight, let us know as soon as you can if you could."

"Okay."

Grandma was fine, of course.

"What's Salisbury's?" Luna asked.

"The department store the other end of Main Street. There's only three of them in existence. They used to be the height of fashion round here in my day, but now... I'm surprised they still exist. What you supposed to wear?"

"Summer dresses, I think," Luna said.

"Aw, that will be nice. You'll do fine. And that money, you send it to your folks after, okay? I think they need it more than us."

"Okay," Luna sighed.

On Saturday Sue came in to brief Luna. She was to arrive by ten. Wear simple white or skin-colored underwear, as small as possible. Not sexy though, something simple and unnoticeable. Don't do makeup, Sue would do it at the studio. Wash and blow dry her hair early morning.

"All good?"

"Yes ma'am."

"You'll be fine, Luna, it will be fun."

And mostly it was. The clothes were boring and conservative, Luna prayed her high school friends never saw the shoot, but the day was relaxed and cheery. There was no rush, and Luna could see that Sammy and Sue worked well together. They clearly had more passion for the studio work than the store.

There were two awkward moments, though. Sue was undressing and dressing Luna on the set, in front of Sammy. As requested, her underwear was demure so it wasn't any worse than if he'd seen her in a bikini at the swimming pool, but it took a while for Luna to get used to it. And at the end of the session, there were two backless dresses which meant Luna had to take off her bra. Her back was turned, and Sammy was professional enough not to stare, but it gave Luna goosebumps knowing he was right there when she was wearing only her panties, albeit briefly.

"This was a great session," Sammy nodded happily as Luna finally put her bra back on. She stood with them in her underwear as they gathered around the laptop to see the photos. In a way they were boring, Luna was a human mannequin in a mannequin pose. But the light and the color and her smile and her style made the dresses look lovely.

"Salisbury's are going to love this," Sue said. "We might get more work."

"Luna, you're ours though!" Sammy laughed. "No running off to them if they try and poach you."

Luna blushed and nodded.

"Go on, pick a dress. The model gets to keep one to take with her. It's tradition."

"Really?" Luna laughed. She didn't like any of them, frankly. They looked like little girls' clothes. Sue could read the look on her face.

"It's got to be this one," she stepped over and said. "It's the one that most suited you."

Sue handed the "floral backless knot ruffle trim" dress over. It was more a fun dress than sexy but had no back to it.

"Try it again," Sue said.

That time Luna could feel Sammy staring as she undid her bra, baring her chest to both of them.

"Wow. Great breasts," Sammy said.

"No," Sue smiled. "Stop what you're thinking."

"What's he thinking?" Luna asked, untangling the dress.

"Lots of people do personal photos back here."

"Personal?"

"Suggestive. Erotic," Sue answered.

"Naked?"

"Yes," Sue said.

"Really? Why?"

Sue laughed.

"For their loved one. Or with their loved one. Or for their portfolio."

"Oh my god," Luna said, taking a deep breath.

"So," she said to Sammy. "Nice breasts or not, they are to be dressed when photographed back here."

Luna's gorgeous body disappeared as she pulled the blue floral dress over it. Walking around and checking herself in the mirror, Luna didn't like the frilly shoulders but it was the best of the choices she had. And with $175 more dollars in her pay that week, all in cash, Luna was feeling good.

"Can we do it again?" she asked Sue when she saw her the following week.

"We'd love you to," Sue said genuinely. "But there are no appointments right now."

"Oh."

On Friday evening just before closing a gorgeous young woman came in for an appointment with Sammy. She was Asian, perhaps early twenties but Luna noticed she had a wedding ring.

"Rui Walker to see Mr. and Mrs. Hamilton," she told Luna.

"Mrs. Walker!" Sammy said, coming out from the office. "Welcome. Come in, come in. Come into my office. My wife Sue will be here shortly. Where are you from? I didn't realize you were Asian. You are the spitting image of Aika Miura, my god."

"Who?" Rui asked.

"Oh, she's Japanese, in films, a long time ago?" Sammy said, purposely not mentioning what type of films.

"I was born in Japan, but I grew up here."

"Oh, wonderful, take a seat."

With the door to the office closed, Luna could see them talking but not hear them.

The store phone rang.

"Luna," Sue said, "A lady is coming in for a five o'clock session."

"She's here," Luna said.

"You're going to have to help Sammy out on this, I'm sorry. I can't get there."

"Me?"

"It will only be a couple of hours."

"What's wrong?" Luna sensed.

"Oh, I had a little bingle in the car. Nothing bad, nobody hurt. But... I can't use it right now. Tell Sammy I'll explain later. But I need you to help him with this session."

"I don't know how."

"There's nothing to do. You just have to be there."

"I don't understand?" Luna said, confused.

"Grab Sammy, let me talk with him."

Luna put the phone on the counter and knocked on the office door. Sammy came to talk with Sue, leaving Luna and the customer awkwardly hanging.

"Okay," Sammy said when he finished. "Rui, this is Luna, our staff. My wife dinged the car, so Luna will come in with us instead."

"Okay," Rui smiled.

"Luna, Sue will tell your grandmother to hold supper. And don't worry about the session, all you have to do is be there to help Mrs. Walker feel at ease."

"Rui. I'm still not used to being called Mrs. Walker, so Rui is fine."

"Okay. Rui. Luna, take a seat. Rui and I are just talking through the plan for the shoot. So...," Sammy said, picking up his notes. "The photos are for your husband, a first-anniversary present."

"Yes. The first anniversary is paper, so... I thought of this."

"And you only want the prints, no digital?"

"Just one photo album. No copies, nothing that could get online."

"Okay. Noted. How far do you want to go?"

"Go?"

"Full naked, or just a tease?"

Rui laughed. "I don't think William would appreciate just a tease."

"Okay, so fully undressed?"

"Yes," Rui blushed.

"The shots, when he's looking at them, will he want to see something he's interested in, or would he rather it was something you are interested in?"

"I don't understand."

"Okay, so what's his interests?"

"Outside of the bedroom?" Rui clarified.

"Yes!" Sammy laughed.

"William loves rally cars. And dirt bikes. And football."

"Okay, what do you like?"

"I like Japanese cartoons. I like cooking. I like running."

"Okay," Sammy said, leaning over the desk. "We could do the shoot with you holding a football, 'cause that's what he likes, or we could do it with you cuddling a big Pikachu because that's what you like. Do you know what I mean? Will he want to see you naked with things he likes, or things you like?"

"He would think it fake if I am holding a football. He knows I don't like those things."

"Okay, got you there. I hear you. Very good. And what about the setting? Bathroom, bedroom, living room, kitchen? Outdoor?"

"Living room. Bedroom. It's where he mostly...," Rui said, turning red.

"Bathrobe, lingerie, t-shirt, and jeans? Where do we start?"

"Is this okay?" Rui asked, "I wore this thinking it might work?"

She had a red, collared, button-up long-sleeve shirt with dirty scuffed jeans.

Sammy nodded. "We can make that work. Make-up. Subtle or sexy?"

"I don't wear much makeup. Too much would look fake."

"Between your legs, are you shaved?"

"No," Rui blushed.

"Is it tidy?"

"Yes," she said meekly. "I tidied this morning."

"Okay. What else would you like to tell me?"

"I don't know. I'm a bit nervous now."

"Ha, don't worry, we're very good at this, we'll make you look great."

When they moved out back, they surveyed the sets, working out which parts to use. There was a 'room' with dark green walls and white skirting board and picture rail, with a huge leather chesterfield sofa. On the other angle, the 'room' had a four-poster bed with beige walls.

"The red shirt goes better with the bed than the sofa, not the green wall," Sammy pondered. "But I'd rather have shirt on when sitting, and shirt off when on the bed. Luna, can you see if there are other shirts in the wardrobe that might fit? Rui, can you take that off?"

For a moment Rui hesitated. Having an erotic photoshoot seemed like a great idea, but once she had to undress, she got stage fright.

"White?" Luna asked, holding out a silk shirt with a wide collar.

"Perfect," Sammy said, handing it to Rui. He purposely turned to work on the camera stand, sensing Rui needed time to get used to undressing for him. She slipped the red shirt off without undoing the buttons and put the white silk shirt on. It was a little bit big, but that helped it look good on her. Sammy gave her a touch of makeup and powder to stop any glare, getting praise from Luna for knowing how to do it so well.

"When needs must," he replied. "Now, at the start, we're going to do some training. I'll teach you the terms for poses and actions and we'll practice with you dressed. But I'm going to touch you, I'm going to direct your movement. It won't be intimate, but you will be touched, are you going to have an issue with that?"

"Of course not."

"Good. And Luna will be here the whole time. If anything makes you feel uncomfortable, speak up, okay?"

"Yes, thank you."

"Okay, let me start by fluffing out your hair a bit. Short hair suits you, but let me get it a bit fuller if I can."

And so it started. Luna sat on a stool out of the way and watched. Using the chesterfield as the key prop, for twenty minutes Sammy gave Rui a crash course in modeling terms and poses. She was good and having fun. And she was gorgeous, Luna expected the photos would look great.

"Okay, let's step it up. Can you undo the buttons on the shirt? All of them. And look at me as you do it. Ha! Not like that, you're not a primary school teacher, look at me like you're a high school girl giving your boyfriend a treat. Cheeky. Daring. Yes, that's better."

Rui took the direction effectively. She pulled the shirt away from her bra-covered breasts as asked, pulling it off her shoulders, and spinning around. Her body was thin, her stomach flat, and yet her shape was superb.

"Okay, Rui, let's try the shirt without the bra, please."

Rui took a deep breath, looking over at Luna as if checking if she was still there. Rui turned away, undid the hook, and took the straps through the sleeves. Holding the unbuttoned shirt together, she turned and faced Sammy.

"Okay, don't hold the shirt closed, don't hold it open, let it fall where it may."

Sammy had Rui sit, lean, and lay on the chesterfield. He took dozens of photos, many with her breasts falling open to him.

"Lay back, like that. Yes. Both sides of the shirt falling aside. Make it look natural, don't look at the camera. Gee, I tell you, you look a lot like Aika Miura when you're dressed, but your tits... wow. Aika would've killed to have your breasts back in her day."

Rui flushed red, her goosebumps making her nipples huge. Sammy came to stand over her.

"That's it, look at me now. Amazing how full your breasts are. Your nipples have great color. The contrast with your skin is gorgeous. Your man is going to love these photos."

Rui grinned, embarrassed to be flattered.

"Okay, stand up, let's see what we can do just in your jeans."

He had Rui take her shoes and socks off, too, standing barefooted and bare-breasted in front of him.

"Luna, get the tube there, we have glare."

"What is it?" Luna asked handing it over.

"Matifying gel. Stops the glare. Rui, I'm going to rub this in, so I'm going to have to touch you."

"Okay," Rui shuddered.

Sammy put the gel on his hand and rubbed over the points of her shoulders, her shoulder blades, and down to cover Rui's breasts, rubbing it in like a massage.